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Another piece of New York food history is standing at a crossroads... again.
Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana, the century-old Coney Island institution that has been serving coal-oven pies since 1924, is once again looking for a new owner, according to reporting by the New York Post. The third-generation family behind the legendary shop says the decision comes down to a simple reality: there’s no next generation ready to take over.
Co-owners Antoinette Balzano and her sister Louise “Cookie” Ciminieri, along with their brother Frank Balzano, have run Totonno’s for decades, preserving the famously stripped-down menu and old-school methods through a 2009 fire, Hurricane Sandy flooding, the COVID-19 pandemic and repeated closures. But with age and health concerns increasingly limiting what they can do themselves, the family says it’s time to move on.
Founded by Anthony “Totonno” Pero, an Italian immigrant who learned the craft at Lombardi’s in Manhattan before opening his own shop on Neptune Avenue, Totonno’s occupies a near-mythic place in New York pizza lore. It’s one of the city’s last coal-oven pizzerias, still making thin, blistered pies topped with fresh mozzarella, Italian tomatoes and very little else—by design.
The shop’s resistance to change has long been part of its appeal. Totonno’s only began accepting credit cards recently. It sells whole pies, not slices. Pineapple is famously unwelcome. The coal oven has been repaired over the years but never replaced and much of the equipment inside the dining room dates back decades.
This isn’t the first time the family has gone looking for a successor. Totonno’s has previously explored finding a buyer or investment partner, but no deal ultimately materialized. Now, the search appears more urgent.
In recent years, operations have been scaled back significantly. After reopening post-pandemic, Totonno’s has operated as takeout and delivery only, limited to weekends, with indoor dining still closed, reflecting both staffing constraints and the physical demands of running the shop.
Still, interest hasn’t waned. Balzano told the Post that she has received more than 200 inquiries from potential buyers and investors. The family has emphasized that not just anyone will do: the ideal next owner must be committed to preserving Totonno’s methods, menu and meaning.
For New Yorkers, the news lands with a familiar mix of dread and cautious hope. Totonno’s has survived nearly everything the city has thrown at it. Now, its future hinges on finding a steward willing to honor those nine tables—and that coal oven—for the next hundred years.